Turkish researchers are tracing Ice Age-era human presence in south-central Türkiye, walking roughly 25 kilometers each day to examine stream beds and ancient geological layers as they uncover fresh evidence of early human life in caves and rock shelters.
The fieldwork, launched in 2023, has focused on identifying traces of human activity through systematic surface surveys. Researchers say the method has led them to archaeological finds in previously unknown caves, rock shelters and open areas.
Surveys have been completed in several districts of Gaziantep province, including Yavuzeli, Araban and Şehitkamil, as well as the eastern part of Nurdağı and parts of Islahiye. The next phase of the project will expand research to Nizip, Oğuzeli and Şahinbey.
Prof. Ismail Baykara, a faculty member in the Department of Archaeology at Gaziantep University, said the region holds a special place in Türkiye’s Ice Age research.
Baykara said evidence from the Ice Age – which began around 3 million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago – is reshaping understanding of Gaziantep’s prehistoric past. The findings suggest the area was not merely a transit corridor but a region where human communities lived for extended periods.
"Gaziantep is a rich geography that, during the Pleistocene period, offered in one place the raw materials, water resources and natural environmental conditions needed by human groups,” Baykara told Anadolu. "Through the studies we have carried out over the last three years, we have uncovered many findings dating to different periods.”
He said rock shelters, caves and open-area settlements are providing data that could lead to a reassessment of human mobility and lifestyles in Anatolia.
Baykara added that some of the caves identified in Gaziantep have the potential to significantly affect the Pleistocene chronology of Anatolia and are critical for understanding human activity before the transition to the Neolithic period.
Analyses also indicate that Gaziantep’s history may extend back about 1 million years, based on the production techniques, traditions and diversity of chipped stone tools found in the area.
"Due to freezing cold conditions, prehistoric people who struggled to find food and constantly moved by following migrating animal herds carried these tool-making traditions wherever they went, and produced new tools in the areas they reached,” Baykara said.
He said discoveries in caves and rock shelters show that early humans chose these locations as living spaces to protect themselves from harsh climatic conditions.
